Dirigible searchlight



Patented July is, 192e. i f

- UNI-TEU S-TT'ES 'lfeff'r'112,111orFICE.

' THOMAS I. DFFY, or CHICAGQJLLINOIS, AssIGNoa'ro i CHICAGO,

-InLINors DIRIGIBL'E sEAnoHLrGI-Irf Application filed May 1'5,

The purpose 'of this `invention is to .priovide mechanical connections and controlling means for a universallyl adjustable device and itis illustrated asapplied to a 4vehicle searchlight or spotlight7 for adjusting the lamp body by connections extendingther'efrom toa-point within convenient reach of thedriver. In the particular use shown, .the invention involves also the arrangement of electrical.connections for the searchlightwitha control switch associated lwith .the

mechanical control4 and also' details of-in,

s a vertical sectional view-of the and `control connection taken Figure 2 1 lamp body substantially Figure 1. l

Figure 3 is a horizontal detail section taken as indicated at the line, 3,- -3, on Figure 2. .f -Y

Figure 4 is a -transverse detail 'section taken as indicated'at the line, 4 4, on Figure 2.

Figure 5 is an axial section df the termi nalfitting and control handle for 4the lamp.

Figure 6 is :a transverse detail section taken as-lndicated at line, 6-j-6, on Figure.

Figure' is; a detail section taken as indica-ted at. the line', 7.-7, on- Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a fragmental elevation partly 1in section 'showing a part 'of amounting bracket for the lamp body.

Figurev9 isadetail plan view of a mount-- ing clamp for thecontrolterminal.

Figure 10 is a` side elevation, partly. in section, showing a modified mounting for the control device.

Figure 11 isa front elevationof a modi las indicated at line, 2- -2, on`

1922. seriaina 560,907.- i

LEwIs nsownn, or'

fied form of brachetand control connection', certain parts being shown in section.

Figure 12 is a verticahectional view 'taken as indicated atline `12--12 on Fig. ure 11; f

Figure 13 is a transverse detail section as indicated yat line '134-13 onfFigure 1l. `'The flexible mechanicalcontrol embodiedin this inventionmay be applied tovarious Auniversally adjustable devices, but. for pur-, poses of' illustrationv and also for illustrating Avarious 'specific features, vit is shown applied to an adjustably mounted spotlight for an automobile. v .Heretofore in most cases, such lamps` havel been provided 'with' universally -adjustable mountin'gs by' which they were secured to the outside of thevevhicle body, butwhen used on closed'bodi'es of the limousine,sedan or coup types', they are accessible for adjustment only by opening a door or window whichgreatlyimpairs f their usefulness,v` particularlyv instormyqveather when they are most needed. 'Bythe' application-of'my control means, such adjustmentisefejcted from within the.

,car body-at any convenient location, as by steering column, as shown in `Figure 1, or

Amounted on the instrument board if desired. And because. my control connection is a flexible member carried in a iexibletubular casing, the outfit may be manufactured in a standard uniform size and will readilyadapt-'itself to a wide varietyof dimensions f in car bodies and to various specific locations; furthermore, the flexible connection -may 'enterthe body through 'a relatively small openinginthesidewall without impairment to the appearance or strength thereof.v 'i i Figure l shows swivelly supported for turning about' a ver- ,ti'cal axis upona bracket, 2, which is attachedto the corner-post, 3, of the vehicle body.` The arm of the bracket, 2, carries rigidly a swivel post, 4, upon vwhich 'is' a vlamp body or shell, 1, 'l

sleeved -a swivel bearing. member, 5, which Y vpartially supports the lamp body, 1 `Ex tending downwardly from this mounting 'Figure-"1 shows a flexible tubular casing, 6, passing through a rubber washer, 7, set into .the side wall, 8, of the cowl portion of the body, and extending in afree curve to a terminal fitting in the form of a cylinder, 60, from which there.projects the control knob, 10. As shown in this view the cylinder, 60, is supported on the steering column,

l11,l of the vehicle by means of a special clamp device indicated at 12. D

Figure 2 showsin detail the mounting and control connections for the lamp body,

1. The outer shell includes a back wall recessed at 13, into which Vthere is tightly' fitted a base flange member, 14, which extends rigidly from the rear e: d of a guide tube, 15, for the lamp socket, 1 3,' in which the base of the incandescent lamp bulb, 17, is

.23, bearing against a yielding gasket which may be in the form of a rubber` tube, 24, iiiteiposed between the reflector and the edge o f the cover glass orlens, 25. Said glass, 25, is cushioned between the gasket, 24, and a similar gasket, 26, pocketed in the inturned edge, 27,of a bezel ring, 28, which telescopes within the front edge of the shell, 1, and may be locked therein by any suitable means such as studs and slots or grooves of the bayonet lock type, not shown.

The reflector, 22, and cover glass, 25, are yieldingly ietaiiied and prevented from rattling by means of spring arms, 29, bearing against the flange, 21, of tie reflector and supported upon a. bar or plate, 30, of insulated material which is fitted upon the vguide tube. 15, primarily to carry the electricalconnections for-the lamp. 17. These are quite simple, consisting of spring contact arms, 31, held to the insulating bar., 530, by

binding screws, 32, which serve also for the attachment of the lead wires, The contact members, '31, enter the guide tube, 15,l through clearance slots, 34, and engage the contacts,'35, on the base of the lamp, 17. The socket, 1G, is formed of sheet metal bent to provide a cylindrical `portion at the forward end encircling the base of the lamp, 17. but extending rearwardly in a U-shaped yoke portion, 36. providing lateral clearance for ,the contact arms, 31. corresponding to and registering' with the openings, 34, in the guide tube, 15. The rear end of the yoke, 3G, is threaded to engage a focus adjusting` screw, 37, centrally journaled in the rear wall of the shell. 1. for moving the socket, 16, longitudinally to adjust the `poof' the shell and the yoke, 3G, to hold the parts .in position.l

The lower side of the shell, 1, is slotted at 40, to admit a bracket arm, 41, extending from the sleeve portion, 5, whichA is Swiveled on the depending post, 4, of the bracket, 2. A double swinging link member, 42, connects the` end' of the bracket arm, 41, within the shell, 1, to pivots, 43, set in bosses, 44, which are formed integrally upon the socket guide tube, 15. For the sake of rigidity and smooth action the duplicate links, 42, may be integrally joined by a bridge member, 45, somewhat in the manner of a familiar -form of vehicle spring shackle. llxteudiug downwardly within the shell from thel guide tube, 15, is a rigid arin, 46.

pivotally attached at 4T, to the actuator member, 4S,.of the control means. Said actuator, 4S, is slidably and rotatably cai'- ried in the bore of the swivel post, 3, and is operatively joined thereiiito the braided wire cover, 49. which eiicloses the flexible shaft, 50, of closely coiled wire by which rotative movement is transmitted to the actuator, 4S. Said flexible shaft.' 50, and its braided Wire cover, 49, which makes it longitudinally inextensible though transversely flexible, are carried with. some clearance iii a` flexible tubular casing, 51, which may be of the familiar coiled type as indicated in Figure 2. and said casing is provided with a terminal sleeve. 52. threaded for coupling' to the lower end of the swivel post, 4- at, 53,.preferably with a nut, 54, interposedlo serve as a step bearing or flange upon which -the 'sleeve portion, 5, of the lauip bracket .rests and which may be adjusted iii properly spaced relation to the upper flange or shoulder, 55, of the posi. 4. ll'heii thus adjusted the nut. 54. may be locked in position by the threaded terminal, 52, ofthe flexible shaft casing.

The actuator, 4S. is' slotted or bifurcated at its upper end to receive and operatively engage the arm, 46, so that rotationk of the member, 48, about lts axis will swive-lithe lamp body, 1` about the same axis, its sup- .portingr bracket arni, 41, being co-axially mounted upon the post, 4, by means ol' the sleeve` 5. Such rotative adjustment of the actuator. 4S, may be made by twisting the flexible control member within the casing, 51, through anyv suitable connections at its remote end. For tilting the lamp body. l. the actuator, 48. is slidably shifted along its axis wif c hollow post, 4, by translation of the 'flexible shaft within the casing, 6; this moves the vhorizontal pivot, 47, vertically with respect to t-lie parallel pivot, 5G, on which'the lamp body is supported through the swinging links, 42, and pivots, 43, on the lill tube, 16. -The links, 42, accommodate the action, permitting the straight line movement'of the actuator,u 48, to work through the rigid arm, Li6,`of the tube, 15, but within a .limited range, -sothat the motion of the lamp body is substantially a' rocking motion about the piyot axis at 56.

lThecontrolling means for causing these movements ofthe lamp body may be suchas shown in section in- Figure 5, comprising 'aguide cylinder, 69, within which a control member'in the form of arigid hollow rod or tube', 6 1, is axially mountedto slide through i i' iexible shaft, 50, said shaft and its braidedl a central opening in one end cap, 6 2, of the' cylinder, 60." At the" opposite end, a cap, 63, connects with the coiled casing, 6, of the wire cover, 49, extending within the guide cylinder, 60, for rigid connection with 'the linner end of the control rod, 61. At the `o uter'end theqcontrol'frod, 61, is fittedwith a knob preferably formed oftwo parts, ahollow body portion, .64, and -a cover, 65, to

. permit housing an electric vswitch `therein for v controlling the current supply to the lamp,

17. Que or more radially disposed. pins o r sc rews, 66, serve to' lock the lknob to the hollow rod, 6i, so that the rod may be either rotatedorslida'bly adjusted in the cap, 62,

of the guide` cylinder, 60. Within the cylin-..

der, the part, 61, is further guided bythe revision of a hub, 67, with an integral. ange, 68, and an applied fiange or ring, 69,

1 between which compressible lpacking-material, 70, of annular form is secured for fric'` tional lengagement-wi th the inner surface of "the guide cylinder, 60, Thecap, 62,v is

Y 'an rod, 61, tothe switch 'member in the knob,

screwed on to the/end of the cylinder, 60, and pocketed within the ca p is` a close-fitting washer, 71, of rubber or similar yielding may terial, and a rigid metal Washer,. 72 against:

which the rubber washer, 71 is compnessed v by adjustment of the cap, 62, so as to frictionally grip the rod,'61, adjacent its' .bear-.

ing i1i'the.cap,'62. Thus the friction members, and 71,' serve-'to holdthe parts' at .any positionvof adjustment, and maintain.` the spotlight indefinitely in any desired relation to its supportin bracket, 2. -4

.For supplying electric current tothe lamp 1.7, 'a pair of lead wiresfwhich' may lbe enclosed inga common insulating cover, 7 3,

enter' the'cylinder, 60, throughits cap, 63,v 'and are coiledabout the control member, 61.

Entering the latter through an aperture,l74,

- the individual .wires separate, one of-them,

being one of the wires, 33, extending through the hollow,le`xible` shaft, 50, to the lamp, and theI other wire, 33, running in the opdposite direction through the hollow control 64. A diskof insulating material, 75, serves for mounting binding posts, 7 6 and 77, wlose i rounded heads diametrically disposed upon 65 said disk,`7 5, cooperate as contacts with the engage rotatable contact disk, 78, As shown .in

Figure 6,'sai-d disk isfoinied'with notches,

79, which avoid contact with the; heads of said screws, 76 and 77, .at one position; but when the. disk is turned said-'notches will register withthe heads of screws, 80, while th'e surface of Jthe disk .will contact simultaneously with 4the bindingscrews, 76

and 77, thus closing thel circuit through the wires, 33, leading to theflamp. For 'sim plicity of construction, the screws, 80, may

also serverthe additional purpose of securing the disk, `75, in the hollow knob., 64;. The

cover, 65,- is screwed on to thehollow body, 64, and locked against rotation by radial screws or pins, 81. A rotatively mounted button, 83, in said cover, Iis connected to the contact disk, 78, for adjusting .it to turn the light on or off- Preferably?asshown in section in Figure 7, the disk, '78, 'is formed withl recesses, 84, to register with the heads of screws', v8O, for retaining the disk in the position shown in Figure 6, with the clean ance notches, 79, registered varound the contacts, =76 and 77. The same recesses, 84, willsiinilarly hold the disk atv90 from this control device of this type .may be lmounted as. shown in Figure1, with the guide cylinder, 60, adjacent and parallel to the steering column, 1l, -and secured thereto by the clamping device, 12, consisting of a bracket having a portion, 91., which partially en- -'compasses theA cylinder, 60, with parallel .ar-ms, 92, extending therefrom and having fiared end port-ions, 93, adjacent the steering `position when the light is turned on. The i column, l11.. Aiiexible metallic stra-p, 94, l

passes around the clumn,.11, with its end portions extendingb'etween they arms, 92,

vand bearing against the Haring portions, 93.

the flanges intothe board, 100, as shown.` With this arrangement, 'the iiexible casing, .6, will beaccommodated entirely back of with clamping bolts, 96, asindicated llO 4the instrument board, 100, and out of sight,

providing a very neat appearance for the control dcvice.-

` fFigures11, 12'a11d 13, illustrate a modificationin the mechanical structure 'of the lamp and its mounting, adapted for operation by thesame type of flexible conti-ol as that shown in connection vwith the lamp illustrated in Figure 2. In this instance, the lamp body'or shell,101, is-'formed with a lateral boss, 102, from whichthere extends l and at right angles thereto. The sleeve, 105,

- is mounted between the arms, 106 and 107,

of a bracket whose base, 108, issecured to the corner post, 3,'of the vehicle body. A hollow cap member 100, screwed into the bracket arm, 106.I extends also -into the counter-bored end of the sleeve, ,105, to serve as atrunnion at 110, and at the lower end of the sleeve, 105, a similar trunnion is provided in the form of a threaded bushing member, 111, screwed up through the bracket arm, 107, withits threaded end depending therefrom for connection with the terminal, 52, of the flexible coiled casing, 6, which encloses the flexible control shaft, 50, and its braided covering, 49.- lVithin the bushing, 111, there is slidably and rotatively mounted an actuator, 112, whose upper p ortion is longitudinally groved for engagement-With the sleeve, 105', by any suitable key such as the. reduced end, 113, of a set screw, 114 (see Figure 13). This permits free longitudinal movement of the-actuator, 112, withinthe sleeve, 105, while insuring that the sleeve will rotate with the actuator when the latter is turned by twisting the flexible control shaft, 50. This provides therotative adjustment of the lamp body, 101, about the axis of the sleeve, 105. For raising or lowering the beam of light, the spindle, 103, has

' fixedl upon it a gear, 115, and the upper portion of the actuator, 11,2, is formed with rack teeth, 116, which Vmesh with said gear and rotate it as the actuator moves up ordown in the sleeve, 105. To maintain suitable electric connections throughout this range ofniovement, the wires, 33, leading through the flexible shaft, 50, emerge from said shaft into a. channel, 117, formed in the face of the actuator, 112, beside the rack teeth, 116.

Upposite this groove or channel, the spindle, 103, is fittedwith a grooved hub or pulley,

. 118, having a radial'aperture, 119, leading into the hollow spindle, 103. Thus the wires, 117, are wrapped once around the grooved hub, 118, and led through its radial opening, 119, into the spindle, 103, which is rigid with the lamp body, 101, containing the electric lamp bulb, not shown. As the aetuator, 112, travels up or down rotating the gear, 115, the wires, 33, are reeled on or off the grooved hub, 116` and more or less ot their length is accommodated in the channel, 117, of the actuator. To avoid unnecessary z slack in the wires, the diameter of the grooved hub, 118, should be such that the reeling and unreeling will take place substantially at the pitch circle of the gear, 115.

Figure 8 shows a detail of construction relating to the bracket arm, 2, whereby the lamp may be mountedat either side of the vehicle .bodywithout substitution of anydifferent bracket.- The end of the bracket arm, 2, is conically formed at 2, and fitted by bolts .or screws, 2f, to the front face of the corner post, 3. To adapt the bracket for attachment to the opposite corner post, 3, it is only necessary to loosen the screw, 2d, and rotate the base, 2, 180o on the cone, 2, re-

'clamping the bolts in this position,or if the corner post is not strictly vertical, this construction permits.adjustment of the base, 2, to any desired angle.l

l-elaimz- 1. The combination of a hollow shell forming a lamp body and means for adjust ably supporting the same comprising.;` a bracket having an arm swiveled thereon for rotation about a vertical axis and an actuator rotatably and slidably guided therein for movement aboutl and along said axis, said shell having a lslot in its under side through which said swiveled arm extends into the shell, a lamp' supporting assembly within the shell and rigid therewith, a link connected by horizontal pivots to said assembly and to the end ot' the bracket arm within the shell, and a horizontal pivotal connection between said actuator and the lamp body in lixed relation to the latter whereby .the movenient. of said actuator along its axis will adjust the` lamp body about its horizontal pivots while rotation ot said actuator about its axis will swing the lamp about the swivel axis of the bracket arm.

2. In -combination with a universally ad- `ljustable light projector` a flexible shaft.

nal, dimensioned' to afford an annular clearance space around the 'terminal within the `cylinder, and a guide piston on said tubular member within theeylinder fitted with packing material to Jrictionally engage the cylinder.

3. Tn the con'ibination defined in claim 2, said light projector including an electric lamp and a. flexible shaft being hollow, a conductor wire extending through said hollow shaft from the lamp and emerging from a lateral opening in the terminal within the cylinder, said wire extendlng loosely therefrom to an opening 1n the cylinder wall.

4L In the combination defined-in claim 2,

` aid light projector including an'electri t am and a flexible shaft being'hollow, a con uctor wire extending through said hol-y low lshaft from the lamp and emerging from a lateral opening in the terminalwithin'the cylinder, said wire being loosely coiled about the terminal tube intermediate said lateral I i' opening therein and an opening'in vone end4 wall of the cylinder through which said' wire emerges.

v cylinder,

vsaid light p 5. In the combination defined in claim 2, rojector including an electric flexible shaft being hollow, a

lam and a con uctor wire extending through said hollow shaft from the'lamp and-emerging from a lateral opening in the terminal withinl the operating knob secured to the terminal tube outside the cylinder, an electrical switch devicer housed Wires extendingthrough the terminal tube 'l l from the lateral opening within the cyllnder to the switch device'in the knob. e

6. In combination with a universally adju'sta-ble electric lamp, a hollow ilexibleshaft operatively connected thereto and mounted `forrotation about its axis and` for transla-A tionl along said axis, operating mea-ns connected for imparting either motion to said shaft at will, comprising 'a rigidV tubular. terminal attached to the hollow flexible sha-ft, with a hollow knob on said terminal, an electrical switch device housed within said knob with an operatingmember protruding therefrom, and a conductor wire extending.

from the light through the hollow shaft and tubular terminal for connection with the switch devicein the knob. u In testimony whereof, I havehereunto set my hand at Chicago, Illinois` this 25th day THOMAS-1. DUFFY. 

